Quantcast

What the heck is rattling around in my rim?

BurlyShirley

Rex Grossman Will Rise Again
Jul 4, 2002
19,180
17
TN
...so every time I spin my wheel, I hear something rolling around...apparently inside the rim. All the spokes are tight, no nipples've come off or anything.
Took the tire off thinking maybe my stans had dried out and it was a booger in there rolling around, but no, its something metally inside the rim.
I hate crossmax.
 

Hunter

Monkey
Sep 14, 2006
793
0
The Right coast
...so every time I spin my wheel, I hear something rolling around...apparently inside the rim. All the spokes are tight, no nipples've come off or anything.
Took the tire off thinking maybe my stans had dried out and it was a booger in there rolling around, but no, its something metally inside the rim.
I hate crossmax.
Interesting...I've had this same problem with my Mavic Crosslands. It's something small stuck inside the rim...but everything with the wheel seems to be fine. Let me know if you track down the problem.
 

pixelninja

Turbo Monkey
Jun 14, 2003
2,131
0
Denver, CO
Start drilling holes until whatever it is falls out. Not only will you have removed the rattle, you'll have much lighter wheels. :thumb:
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,225
20,003
Sleazattle
Probably metal shaving from when they drilled the rim. About the only thing you can do is take out the valve stem and see if you could fish it out. If that doesn't work put a dollup of rubber cement inside the rim and hope what ever is rolling around sticks to it and stops making noise.
 

loco-gringo

Crusading Clamp Monkey
Sep 27, 2006
8,887
14
Deep in the heart of TEXAS
Mavic uses a little piece that holds the rim together when they weld it. Open Pros are notorious for breaking and causing a tick. If you can get in there, a little super glue or silicone will stop it.

It requires drilling on the OP.
 

PatBranch

Turbo Monkey
Sep 24, 2004
10,451
9
wine country
I had the same problem with my Azonic HT. It was a piece of polishing stuff. I got it out, and rode it, and after a year, the seatstay weld split.
 

Mike B.

Turbo Monkey
Oct 5, 2001
1,522
0
State College, PA
bogey nailed it, many rims have a sleeve inserted on either side of the weld to absorb heat and prevent burn-through. The sleeve doesn't handle alignment just heat. Some of our rims use the sleeves and yes, some of them come loose. We've had new tooling made and tightened tolerances to make it go away. A little glue works wonders as the sleeve (at least in our lightweight models) is only held in place with a small dimple in the outer rim wall on either side of the weld.

For your Crossmax the easiest fix would be to remove one spoke and one nipple cup, drop in a little super glue and call it good. The sleeve is most likely still right near the weld since the nipples prevent it from migrating too far.
 

James

Carbon Porn Star
Sep 11, 2001
3,559
0
Danbury, CT
Sounds like you have "mud in the tires".
Awesome quote!

I actually have a similar issue with one of my carbon road wheels. Just a piece of the bladder, or some similar junk. I totally blanked on tipping it out before I glued the tire on. You only really hear it when off the bike, get going and centrifugal force sticks it in place.
 

sanjuro

Tube Smuggler
Sep 13, 2004
17,373
0
SF
The sponge.

Not joking. Mavic puts a sponge in their wheels to counterbalance the valve. Occasionally, it comes loose and then you get a rattle...
 

valve bouncer

Master Dildoist
Feb 11, 2002
7,843
114
Japan
My car makes a funny noise every now and again, especially when first put into gear but stops once I get up a bit of speed. Probably the transmission or suspension, I dunno, stupid cars, I just ignore it. The bike on the other hand, anything even remotely audible, even to bats, results in a complete strip down and search and destroy mission.